UN rights chief calls for lifting of Zimbabwe sanctions

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/

 

Zimbabwe visit ... Pillay meeting President Mugabe in Harare on Wednesday

25/05/2012 00:00:00
	by Staff Reporter

 

UNITED Nations human rights chief Navi Pillay on Friday called on the European Union and the United States to lift sanctions on Zimbabwe, saying they have worsened the country’s economic problems with “quite serious ramifications” for the poorest and most vulnerable.

Pillay said allegations of human rights abuses cited by western countries when imposing the sanctions should be dealt with in a court of law, not through measures that affect ordinary people.

“The issues relating to the individuals targeted by the sanctions will, I hope – assuming there is sufficient evidence – one day be sorted out in a court of law, which is the proper place to deal with serious crimes,” she said during a lecture at the University of Zimbabwe.

“In the meantime, I would urge those countries that are currently applying sanctions on Zimbabwe to suspend them, at least until the conduct and outcome of the elections and related reforms are clear.”

The United States and the European Union imposed sanctions against Zimbabwe more than a decade ago, accusing President Robert Mugabe and key figures in his administration of gross human rights abuses and electoral fraud.

Mugabe denies the allegations and claims the sanctions were meant to punish him and his Zanu PF party for the country’s land reforms. The Zanu PF leader blames the sanctions for the country’s near-economic collapse over the last few years.

Western countries blame mismanagement for the country’s economic challenges and insist that the sanctions are only targeted at individuals and corporations linked to the alleged abuses.

But Pillay – whose five-day visit to Zimbabwe concluded on Friday – said the sanctions “are in fact having a wider impact on the general population”.

“There seems little doubt that the existence of the sanctions regimes has, at the very least, acted as a serious disincentive to overseas banks and investors. It is also likely that the stigma of sanctions has limited certain imports and exports,” she said.

“Taken together, these and other unintended side-effects will in turn inevitably have had a negative impact on the economy at large, with possibly quite serious ramifications for the country’s poorest and most vulnerable populations who have also had to cope with the political instability and violence as well as a severe drought.”

Pillay said there was no reason for maintaining the sanctions when all the three parties to the coalition government were agreed that they should be removed.

“The continuation of sanctions is now opposed by all three parties that make up the inclusive government, and I have yet to hear a single Zimbabwean inside the country say they definitely think sanctions should continue,” she said.

“The reason for this is a perception that sanctions, which were targeted at various named individuals and companies, are in fact having a wider impact on the general population.”

Fact finder ... Pillay meeting Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on Tuesday

UN chief urges truth commission

http://www.newzimbabwe.com

25/05/2012 00:00:00
    by Gilbert Nyambabvu

ZIMBABWE should establish a truth and reconciliation commission to deal with
post-independence atrocities in Matabelaland and the Midlands as well as
alleged abuses in successive elections, UN rights chief Navi Pillay has
said.

Pillay, who was speaking at the end of her five-day visit to Zimbabwe on
Friday, said she was concerned that the country’s Human Rights Commission
established in 2010 had remained dysfunctional over disputes regarding its
remit.

The commission’s enabling Bill is stuck in Parliament because parties cannot
agree whether the body should investigate events prior to its establishment.

The MDC formations want the commission to probe rights abuses during the
June 2008 presidential election run-off as well as the Matabeleland and
Midlands massacres, while Zanu PF officials say if the commission should
look that far back then it must also investigate pre-Independence abuses by
Ian Smith’s minority regime.
Pillay said the Commission should not be involved in historical
investigations.

“My strong advice to the political leaders and parliamentarians has been
that – like most other Human Rights Commissions around the world – it should
not become involved in historical investigations,” she said.

“Debate on this issue must not be allowed to continue to hold up this vital
body, whose members have been existing in a sort of operational limbo for
more than two years now.

“Instead, it should deal with the many pressing issues that face Zimbabwe
today and in the future, and in particular all the human rights issues
surrounding the forthcoming elections.”

She insisted, however, that this did not mean that abuses allegedly
committed in the past should be ignored. These could be dealt with through a
separate mechanism, she said during a lecture at the University of Zimbabwe.

“I stress that this does not mean that past human rights violations such as
the devastating large-scale killings and other violations in Matabeleland
and Midlands in the 1980s, or the 2008 election violence, should be swept
under the carpet. Far from it,” she said.

“There should never be impunity for serious crimes, and justice is essential
if peace and stability are to endure. (But) this would be too great a task
for the Human Rights Commission, whose prime role is to deal with current
and future human rights situations.

“Instead, I have urged all parties to consider setting up another body or
bodies – such as a Truth and Reconciliation Committee or a Commission of
Inquiry – to look at major human rights violations that took place some time
ago.”

Zanu-PF courts top UN official

http://mg.co.za

24 May 2012 21:12 - Jason Moyo

Activists say the hosting of the United Nations' Navi Pillay is an attempt
to sugar-coat Zimbabwe's poor human rights record.

Zimbabwe has set out on the long road to ending its international isolation
by hosting the United Nation’s human rights commissioner for the first time
and holding talks with Europe.

But far from showing that Zimbabwe was moving ahead, the visit of the UN’s
Navi Pillay provided a platform for activists to claim that rights abuses
were still continuing.

Three years ago Zimbabwe expelled UN human rights inspector Manfred Nowak,
but this week it laid out the red carpet for Pillay.

Her visit came as the country was stepping up top-level efforts to engage
Europe again, a decade after the European Union placed sanctions on top
Zimbabwean officials.

Rights groups said Pillay was led up the garden path by government “minders”,
headed by Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa. A wide range of pro-Zanu-PF
organisations were lined up to meet her and meetings with government critics
were either cancelled or moved down the agenda.

Country’s isolation
President Robert Mugabe’s ruling party hopes Pillay’s visit will help to end
the country’s isolation, but it is unlikely – a coalition of rights groups
met and handed her what they said was a dossier detailing continued rights
violations.

The Zimbabwe Civil Society Organisations, which represent about 40 groups,
described how activists were being detained and held for long periods
without trial. It said Zanu-PF had deliberately blocked efforts to free its
grip on broadcasting, the party’s militia in the townships and in the
countryside were increasing a campaign of intimidation, and the military was
taking an increasingly active role in public affairs.

The government has set up a human rights commission, but legislation that
would allow it to operate has been blocked and public hearings on the
legislation were disrupted by Zanu-PF militias last year.

Emerging from a meeting with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of
the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, Pillay said she had sought
his assurances that Zimbabwe was prepared to deal with the possibility of a
repeat of the election violence of 2008.

“I was able to raise many areas of concern from a human rights point of
view, such as nonrecurrence of violence that occurred in the last elections
and what steps are being taken to protect ordinary people from such
violence,” Pillay said.

Legimitate elections
Tsvangirai said “progress has been made on the country’s human rights
situation” and that Zimbabwe hoped to have legimitate elections. “The
incidents are still there and we are addressing them. We hope that
forthcoming elections will be free and fair and legitimate and that we move
away from violence.”

This drew criticism from activists, who said he was joining efforts to paper
over Zimbabwe’s rights record. The criticism has underlined a growing rift
between Tsvangirai and his civil society allies.

The activists also complained that the tour had been hijacked. “The visit is
not meant to be a stage-managed process where state representatives take the
UN high commissioner through a guided tour to meet people who give a
glorified and sugar-coated account of the human rights situation in
Zimbabwe,” the coalition said in a statement.

Chinamasa, who was hosting Pillay, was trying to “paint a superficial
picture of our country’s human rights situation”, the coalition added.

Irene Petras, who heads the organisation Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights,
said: “There is still suppression of freedom of expression, there is
suppression of freedom of assembly. There are human rights abuses that are
continuing and we must not try to sweep these things under the carpet.”

Less heated
Zimbabwe held a meeting in Brussels with EU representatives last week but it
yielded few results, although officials reported that it had been far less
heated than previous meetings.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said after the meeting that Europe
believed some progress was being made in Zimbabwe.

“The EU recognised progress to date and encouraged the reform process to
continue in the same positive direction, allowing progress towards
normalisation of relations,” she was quoted as saying.

Although relations with Europe might have thawed somewhat, Zimbabwe is still
getting no joy from the United States.

Johnnie Carson, US assistant secretary for African Affairs and a former
envoy to Zimbabwe, said his government would maintain sanctions on Zimbabwe
until it saw “sufficient progress in the area of democratisation”.

UN Rights chief urges agreement on key reforms

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Tererai Karimakwenda
23 May, 2012

The visiting United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has called on
Zimbabwe’s political leaders to quickly find a solution to their differences
and implement key reforms, in order to avoid the violence that marred the
2008 elections.

Speaking to journalists at the end of her five-day visit to assess human
rights, Navi Pillay said unless the parties quickly agree on key reforms,
the next election could turn into “a repeat of the 2008 election which
resulted in rampant politically motivated human rights abuses, including
killings, torture, rapes, beatings, arbitrary detention, displacements and
other violations”.

Pillay criticized the continued arrests of MDC officials and supporters
under Section 33 of the Criminal Code, which calls for the prosecution of
anyone accused of “insulting or undermining the authority of the president”,
saying the legislation should be repealed.

She also called for amendments to Section 121 of the Criminal Act, which she
said is “seriously misused by prosecutors to block release after bail has
been granted”, without having to explain their actions. “I believe this
legislation should be amended to protect against its frequent misuse for
political purposes, especially during the run-up to elections,” Pillay said.

Regarding the media environment, the UN rights chief said: “I was very
struck, during my meeting with the three thematic Commissions, that the
Media Commission seemed much more concerned with controlling and censoring
media than with promoting freedom of expression.”

She added that the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, the
Broadcasting Services Act and the Public Order and Security Act all infringe
on journalists’ right to freedom of expression and all three need to be
amended so that they are brought in line with international human rights
laws and standards.

On the controversial issue of targeted sanctions, Pillay said these were now
opposed by all three parties in the Inclusive Government and many
Zimbabweans inside the country. She explained that although the sanctions
were targeted at specific individuals and companies, “they are in fact
having a wider impact on the general population”.

“The issues relating to the individuals targeted by the sanctions will I
hope – assuming there is sufficient evidence – one day be sorted out in a
court of law, which is the proper place to deal with serious crimes,” she
added.

Pillay held separate meetings with civil society groups and the Zimbabwe
Human Rights Commission. She also had a joint meeting with the Zimbabwe
Anti-Corruption, Electoral and Media Commissions. This was the first time
all three of these Commissions had met one another.

It was obvious the UN Rights chief had paid much attention to many issues
that Zimbabweans are struggling with, and has a clear understanding of what
needs to be done in order for the country to conduct peaceful elections.

But unfortunately Navi Pillay has no authority to pressure Robert Mugabe and
ZANU PF to implement the key reforms that they agreed to in the GPA, so
Zimbabwe can hold a peaceful election next year.

United Nations Officers Chased Out Of Pillay Briefing

http://www.radiovop.com

By Professor Matodzi Harare, May 25, 2012 - United Nations officials were on
Friday chased out of a press conference convened by Justice Minister Patrick
Chinamasa soon after High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay had
ended her briefing to journalists where she urged the country’s army to
confine itself to the barracks.

The UN officials were listening to Chinamasa who was responding to the UN
human rights chief’s statement.

Pillay who was in the country for five days, to assess the human rights
situation, said she was worried about the army’s involvement in politics.

“I have heard much concern expressed about the role of the military,
including a recent statement by one of the country’s most senior army
officers suggesting the army should throw its weight behind one political
party...for any country to be called a democracy; its army must observe
strict political neutrality as the GPA (Global Political Agreement) clearly
says."
The GPA which was signed by Zanu (PF) and the two Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) formation leaders, saw the establishment of the new unity
government in 2009.
“State organs and institutions do not belong to any political party and
should be impartial in the discharge of their duties,” she said.

Pillay’s comments follow the statements attributed to Major-General Martin
Chedondo, the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) Chief of Staff, who recently
issued brazen remarks that the army must interfere in politics and support
President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu (PF) party and labelled other political
parties as agents of imperialism.

She also told journalists that government should issue more broadcasting
licences to independent players after expressing concern about the perceived
strong political bias of the State-run broadcast media in the country.

“Opening up the market to non-state TV and radio stations might help to
stimulate more balanced and better quality news by providing competition.
While the newspapers have benefitted from greater freedom, they both reflect
and feed the extreme political polarisation,” said Pillay.

Vox Media Productions Private Limited’s has petitioned Zimbabwean courts
challenging its denial of a licence by the country’s broadcasting
authorities and their decision to licence its competitors ahead of it.

On the civil society she said: “A vibrant civil society is a crucial part of
any democratic society’s development, in all spheres including human rights,
and it should be strongly supported even if some of its messages make
uncomfortable reading for those in authority."

"I am also disturbed by reports that some of the humanitarian agencies are
not allowed to operate in certain parts of the country – notably Masvingo
and Mashonaland - which means that aid, including food aid, is not in all
cases being delivered on the basis of need,” Pillay said.

She also called on western governments to suspend sanctions imposed on
President Robert Mugabe and his allies and spoke against the criminalisation
of gays and lesbians.

Pillay, who was expected to leave Zimbabwe Friday afternoon, arrived in the
country last Sunday and held meetings with President Robert Mugabe, Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, ministers and leaders of civil society
organisations.

Mugabe And Pillay Clash On Gay Rights

http://www.radiovop.com/

Harare, May 25, 2012 – President Robert Mugabe on Thursday clashed with
visiting United Nations rights chief after the veteran leader denounced gays
and lesbians while the UN boss said countries must stop “criminalising
homosexuals and sex work.”

Mugabe was speaking at the Harare International Conference Centre at the
launch of the Global Power Women Network for Africa, which aims to
accelerate women empowerment and gender equality in the area of HIV and
sexual and reproductive health and rights.

The 88 year old leader who spoke after Pillay's speech said Zimbabwe and
Africa did not condone gay rights.

"When a man says he wants to get married to a man, we in Zimbabwe do not
accept it. In most Africa we do not accept it. We can't talk of women's
rights anymore once we go in that direction,” Mugabe said.

"As deputy Prime Minister Thokozani Khupe stated, she and she alone has the
womb. I don't know what others believe in the gay world but we don't live in
that world in Africa. We realise that there are mothers who by nature are
given that talent, and that talent to bear the child in their womb, that
talent doesn't belong to men, it certainly doesn't.”

"The bible tells us even the Lord Almighty when he created Adam he knew Adam
alone. The Lord Almighty gave him a different I would like to say species
and that’s the species with the womb and Adam was happy. We can't talk of
woman rights anymore when we go into that direction as Madame Thokozani
Khupe said if women, all women in the world stop bearing children what would
happen to us, extinction of course, that’s the way to go,” he added.

Earlier Pillay in her remarks at the conference said the world required
leadership that will make a decision on several issues that include
“property inheritance and child custody rights for widows, early marriage,
sex education for young people, sexual violence and marital rape, access to
full range of modern contraceptive methods, criminalisation of homosexuality
and sex work, stigma associated with HIV and unwanted pregnancies."

Pillay said women had been marginalised for long adding that causes of death
in women included HIV and AIDS and complications at giving birth.

The Global Power Women network whose president is Khupe was launched through
the assistance of UNAIDS and the African Union.

The Global Power meeting was attended by UNAIDS executive director, Michel
Sidibe, deputy chairperson of the African Union commission Erastus Mwencha,
US ambassador to Zimbabwe Charles Ray, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and
Professor Arthur Mutambara, the deputy Prime Minister of Zimbabwe and
several Members of parliament from different countries across Africa.

MDC-T mounts diplomatic offensive as SADC summit draws near

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Tichaona Sibanda
25 May 2012

The MDC-T has embarked on a new diplomatic offensive to galvanise support
from the region, for the far-reaching legislative reforms needed in Zimbabwe
before elections can be held.

The country will again be the focus of attention at next week’s SADC summit
in Luanda, Angola, at which regional leaders will discuss the ongoing
political crisis blocking implementation of the GPA and election roadmap.

Tensions between the parties that signed the GPA have continued to rise,
fuelled recently by calls from Robert Mugabe to go for elections with or
without a new constitution.

The former ruling ZANU PF party is pushing for elections to be held in
December this year, while both formations of the MDC want the poll held in
March next year.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has in the last month sent the party’s
International Relations secretary, Jameson Timba, on a political and
diplomatic offensive ahead of the Luanda summit.

Timba, has quietly been engaging SADC Heads of State and providing them with
a first-hand account of their concerns over holding elections without the
necessary reforms. He is also raising regional awareness of the direction
Zimbabwe is heading under the inclusive government.

Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa has also been on a diplomatic offensive
in the region, pushing SADC to endorse Mugabe’s early election plan.

It is expected that the leaders will review a progress report by South
African President Jacob Zuma, assigned by the regional grouping to
facilitate the inter-party talks in Zimbabwe.

Zuma’s facilitation team is expected in Harare next week to check on
progress made by the unity government in drawing up an election roadmap,
particularly the constitutional drafting process that has dragged on three
years behind schedule.
COPAC, the body spearheading the drafting of a new charter is under pressure
to speed up the constitutional reforms which have been held back by constant
haggling between the political parties.

But once completed, the constitution will be put to a national referendum
leading to general elections to end the coalition government formed
following disputed elections in 2008.

MDC-T Youth Assembly secretary general, Promise Mkwananzi told us that he’s
doubtful SADC will agree to Mugabe’s plan to hold elections without
addressing the root causes of the country’s political problems.

‘I don’t see SADC succumbing to ZANU PF pressure. In fact they should take a
principled role and stand by their earlier decision to demand reforms before
an election can be held in Zimbabwe. Otherwise anything other than that will
risk creating a deeper crisis,’ Mkwananzi said.

Prime Minister Visits China for High-Stakes Meetings

http://www.voanews.com/

24 May 2012

Blessing Zulu and Gibbs Dube | Washington

Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai will Friday embark on his maiden
trip to China since taking office in 2009, to engage authorities in
high-stakes meetings over stalled projects in Harare funded by Beijing.

Tsvangirai’s week-long visit is at the invitation of the Chinese government.
He will hold talks with his Chinese counterpart, Wen Jiabao among others.

The trip has irked some officials in President Robert Mugabe's Zanu PF who
have launched on an all-out offensive accusing the prime minister of wasting
tax payers money by taking with him 31 officials on a "sight seeing
mission."

The Zanu PF-leaning Herald newspaper accused him of backtracking on his
policy of snubbing China.

But Tsvangirai's spokesman Luke Tamborinyoka said in a statement he was
trying to kick-start several projects funded by the China Export and Import
Bank in the fields of energy and water, among others that have stalled due
to several reasons including “the country’s failure to service loans.”

The statement dismisses concerns Tsvangirai's entourage was bloated.

The prime minister and his Movement for Democratic Change party have
previously criticized President Robert Mugabe for going on foreign junkets
with unnecessarily huge delegations.

A member of the Tsvangirai delegation, Water Resources Minister Samuel
Sipepa Nkomo said the visit was significant for infrastructural development
in Zimbabwe.

Economist Tony Hawkins of the University of Zimbabwe said the trip would
likely produce positive results.

Stung by Western sanctions over human rights violations, Zimbabwe was forced
to turn to China and other Asian markets in the past ten years for
investment under its so-called Look East Policy.

PM visit to China rocks Zanu-PF

http://www.thezimbabwemail.com/

By Staff Reporter 23 hours 18 minutes ago

Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai will Friday embark on his maiden
trip to China since taking office in 2009, to engage authorities in
high-stakes meetings over stalled projects in Harare funded by Beijing amid
reports of a dramatic shift in policy influenced by the South African
government.

Tsvangirai’s week-long visit is at the invitation of the Chinese government.
He will hold talks with his Chinese counterpart, Wen Jiabao among others.

The trip has irked some officials in President Robert Mugabe's Zanu PF who
have launched on an all-out offensive accusing the prime minister of wasting
tax payers money by taking with him 31 officials on a "sight seeing
mission."

The Zanu PF-leaning Herald newspaper accused him of backtracking on his
policy of snubbing China.

But Tsvangirai's spokesman Luke Tamborinyoka said in a statement he was
trying to kick-start several projects funded by the China Export and Import
Bank in the fields of energy and water, among others that have stalled due
to several reasons including “the country’s failure to service loans.”

The statement dismisses concerns Tsvangirai's entourage was bloated.

The prime minister and his Movement for Democratic Change party have
previously criticized President Robert Mugabe for going on foreign junkets
with unnecessarily huge delegations.

A member of the Tsvangirai delegation, Water Resources Minister Samuel
Sipepa Nkomo said the visit was significant for infrastructural development
in Zimbabwe.

Economist Tony Hawkins of the University of Zimbabwe said the trip would
likely produce positive results.

Stung by Western sanctions over human rights violations, Zimbabwe was forced
to turn to China and other Asian markets in the past ten years for
investment under its so-called Look East Policy.

Analysts said the Chinese Government has recognised the office of the Prime
Minister as the new future, or they are aware there is a very high
likelihood that the current Prime Minister will win the next election, and
want to prepare ground to do business with the next government.

In its 24 May edition, the Herald attacks Prime Minister Tsvangirai for
taking with him a 31-member delegation on the visit, which, according to the
Herald, has a lot of sightseeing tours.

What the Herald did not report was whether the itinerary was prepared by the
host, the Chinese Government who it reported invited the Prime Minister, or
by the Prime Minister’s office, but reading through the story, the Herald
was trying to imply that there wasn’t much business the 31-member delegation
was going to discuss as most of the time will be spent sightseeing.

A New Twist on Chinese Foreign Policy:

One of the cardinal rules of Chinese diplomacy is that China doesn’t mix
business with politics. The precept fits in nicely with the primacy that
China places on sovereignty, respecting the right of a country—or at least
the leaders of the moment—to determine how things ought to work. And, of
course, it also provides Beijing with the opportunity to rationalize its
lack of enthusiasm for tough foreign policy action in places such as Iran,
Syria, Sudan, or Zimbabwe as a matter of principle.

Of course, as I have written elsewhere, doing business in any
country—particularly when you supply a country with arms as Beijing has done
in both Sudan and Zimbabwe—is in fact mixing business with politics. And the
ongoing competition between Beijing and Taipei to purchase diplomatic
relations with small, often poor, states is nothing if not the blatant
mixing of business with politics.

So on the face of it, the claim is rather silly. Moreover, there have been
more subtle cases in the past—such as when Beijing postponed a purchase of
Airbus planes after then-President Sarkozy agreed to meet with the Dalai
Lama in 2008 and its rare earth export slowdown to Japan in the wake of the
East China Sea dispute in 2010, to name a few—that suggest Beijing has not
been unwilling to exert a bit of economic leverage to punish a perceived
political transgression.

In fact, it appears that Beijing’s willingness to mix business with politics
is increasingly an open secret.  In the midst of China’s dispute with the
Philippines over control of a shoal in the South China Sea, Beijing has
called on Chinese travel agencies to suspend tours to the Philippines. There
have also been some fruit shipments blocked from the Philippines to China,
although this problem apparently began before the standoff in the South
China Sea.

A similar theme is playing out this month across a couple of oceans. The
state-supported Global Times has called for Beijing to suspend some economic
cooperation with the United Kingdom in retaliation for Prime Minister David
Cameron meeting with the Dalai Lama. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has
chimed in by saying that the meeting “Seriously interfered with China’s
internal affairs, undermined China’s core interests, and hurt the feelings
of the Chinese people.”

And of course, Tokyo felt Beijing’s political sting when it hosted the World
Uyghur Congress, an exile group opposed to China’s policies in Xinjiang that
is considered by Beijing to be a terrorist organization. Beijing cancelled a
meeting between Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and Hiromasa Yonekura, the
Chairman of the Japanese business group Keidanren, to demonstrate its
displeasure with Tokyo.

Despite Beijing’s massive economic weight, however, its efforts to throw
that weight around are unlikely to succeed. The problem for Beijing, as I
see it, is three-fold.

First, on the rare occasion that anyone listens to China’s protestations and
does what Beijing wants, it seems that Beijing doesn’t then return the
favor. (See, for example, President Obama postponing a meeting with the
Dalai Lama before his trip to Beijing in 2009, and China’s ungenerous
treatment of the U.S. president in return.) Once countries see that China
takes without giving back, no one will want to give any more.

Second, it is very difficult to use economic leverage to get other states to
adopt your interests as their own when they really don’t want to. Here
Beijing can look to the United States for instruction. At a recent meeting I
attended, when a senior Myanmar/Burmese official was asked whether the U.S.
sanctions had any impact on the country’s decision to transition to
democracy and open the economy, the official said—rather unsurprisingly, I
think—that they really hadn’t, because the sanctions had been around for
years.

Third, Beijing may simply be in danger of overestimating its economic
leverage. In the case of the Philippines, for example, even though China is
the Philippines’ third largest trading partner, the Chinese are not among
the top three tourist groups visiting the Philippines and Filipino Tourism
Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. seems unfazed by China’s pullout. He has simply
suggested that the Philippines will look to Japan and other “traditionally
stronger markets” to make up the difference.

China has long mixed business with politics in a most unattractive fashion;
it just hasn’t been willing to admit it. Will it make a difference if
Beijing finally fesses up? My guess is that greater honesty won’t make much
of a difference outside China, where everyone is pretty well aware of the
gap between Chinese rhetoric and Chinese actions on the ground.

The opportunity rests within China itself. If China’s leaders can take the
first step to acknowledge honestly what it is they are doing, they may be
able to take the second step and realize that what they are doing is not, in
fact, yielding what they want. That, at least, might put them a step ahead
of the United States, where we are still waiting for Cuba to see the error
of its ways.

MDC youth leader in Mash Central arrested over party posters

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Tichaona Sibanda
25 May 2012

MDC provincial youth chairman for Mashonaland Central, Tonderai Samhu, has
been arrested in Mvurwi, allegedly for putting up party posters in the area.

Promise Mkwananzi, the party’ s Youth Assembly secretary-general told SW
Radio Africa that Samhu was picked up the police and is believed to have
been trasferred to Bindura for questioning.

‘He phoned us to say he’s been arrested and that police were preparing to
take him to Bindura. Thereafter his phone went dead and we have dispatched a
team to Mvurwi and Bindura to check on him,’ Mkwananzi said.

Samhu who has been a thorn in the flesh for ZANU PF in Mashonaland Central
has been arrested countless times, including in 2010 for allegedly insulting
Robert Mugabe during a party rally in Guruve.

During that rally, the outspoken youth leader chanted the MDC slogan that
denounces Mugabe and ZANU PF. Speaking to SW Radio Africa after his arrest
at the time, Samhu said he was merely chanting a well known party slogan
that they routinely use during party gatherings.

He told us the slogan; ‘Mbavha bvisa (remove thieves), Mugabe bvisa (remove
Mugabe), ZANU PF bvisa (remove ZANU PF) was not an insult, but a rallying
call to remove Mugabe through the ballot box.

Over the years, numerous people have been arrested, fined, beaten or jailed
under the country’s draconian laws that make it an offence to make any
comment perceived to be an insult to Mugabe, the world’s oldest head of
state and in power for 32 years.

Judge Reserves Ruling On Tsvangirai's Case Against Mugabe

http://www.radiovop.com

Harare, May 25, 2012 – High Court judge George Chiweshe on Thursday reserved
a ruling in a matter in which Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is suing
President Robert Mugabe for unilaterally appointing provincial governors
without consulting him.

Tsvangirai formed a unity government with Mugabe in February 2009 after
violent elections in June 2008 went to court to seek a ruling that makes
Mugabe’s “unilateral” appointment of governors null and void.

The two principals in the shaky inclusive government continue to hold
meetings every Mondays before cabinet meetings on Tuesday.

Mugabe’s lawyer, Terrence Hussein, told the High court in his submissions
that for Tsvangirai to sue Mugabe, the premier must apply to the High Court
for the higher court to decide whether the case has merits.

“His Excellency (Mugabe) is the commander of the defence forces and directs
the fate of the country. He cannot be distracted by willy-nilly applications
like this one,” Hussein said adding that the premier’s case is frivolous.

But Tsvangirai’s lawyer, Advocate Tabani Mpofu, said his client’s case was
properly before the courts.

Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change has complained to the
facilitator South African President Jacob Zuma that Mugabe has been flouting
the constitution and that several agreed issues in the Global Political
Agreement (GPA) are yet to be implemented.

Mugabe has said the appointment of provincial governors was his prerogative
and that he does not need to consult with anyone.

He also said he will not implement some issues that are agreed until the
United States and Europe remove targeted sanctions on himself, his wife and
senior Zanu (PF) officials.

13 killed in Bindura bus crash

http://www.newzimbabwe.com

25/05/2012 00:00:00
    by Staff Reporter

AT least 13 people were killed and several others injured Friday when a
commuter bus was involved in an accident along the Harare-Bindura road,
police have confirmed.

Witnesses said the accident occurred when the driver lost control of the
vehicle following a tyre burst and rammed into a tree.

Several people were injured and admitted at Concession Hospital.

ZANU PF run broadcasting authority says no more radio licences

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Lance Guma
25 May 2012

The Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ), which is packed with ZANU PF
sympathisers, has claimed that they will not issue any more radio licences
because the country has exhausted all the six frequencies on its FM
broadcasting band.

On Thursday BAZ Chief Executive Officer Obert Muganyura appeared before the
Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Media, Information and Communication
Technology. Committee chairperson and MDC-T MP for Mbizo, Settlement
Chikwinya wanted to know if the authority was going to issue more licences.

“There is no way forward in terms of going beyond the six national stations
except for television where there is a chance for more when we migrate from
analogue to digital,” Muganyura claimed.  The Zimbabwe Broadcasting
Corporation uses 4 channels and the other two were awarded to pro-ZANU PF
stations.

According to Muganyura the licences controversially issued to the ZANU PF
controlled Zimpapers’ Talk Radio and AB Communications had completed the
national radio services on the FM broadcasting band.

Speaking to SW Radio Africa on Friday, Chikwinya disputed the claims by
Muganyura, saying their information showed that the country had space for 68
radio stations and 51 television stations on analogue. These figures could
become ‘limitless’ if the country completed an expected switch to digital.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has in the past said “the regional trend
should leave us embarrassed as a country. The DRC has 381 radio stations and
93 television stations. (41 radio stations and 51 television stations in
Kinshasa alone!). South Africa has about 1, 000 radio and television
stations combined.”

It has always been clear to many that ZANU PF does not want to free the
airwaves. The regime which is battling a dwindling support base even in its
traditional rural strongholds relies heavily on the media to sustain its
aura of invincibility.

Zimbabwe Observes Africa Day With National Prayers

http://www.voanews.com

25 May 2012

Irwin Chifera & Tatenda Gumbo | Harare/Washington

Zimbabwe joined the rest of the continent in commemorating Africa Day Friday
with civil society groups and analysts differing on the importance of the
day - designated as a national holiday by only four out of 56 African
nations.

Africa Day marks the formation of the Organization of African Union, now
known simply as the African Union, in 1963. Only Ghana, Namibia, Zambia and
Zimbabwe treats the day as a public holiday.

Among other activities, church leaders in Harare held a national prayer
session which was aborted prematurely after the police told crowds to
disperse citing the absence of toilets at the venue.

The event - held at the open space behind the Harare International
Conference Centre - was scheduled to end at 5 pm but police stopped it at
1:30pm saying organizers had not met regulatory requirements to provide
toilets.

Event co-coordinator Reverend John Chimbambo said they experienced lack of
funding to set up necessary facilities.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai was one the 30,000 people who were
scheduled to attend but his spokesman said he skipped the event as he was
preparing for a trip to China.

Small Enterprises and Development Minister Sithembiso Nyoni of Zanu PF was
the only senior government official present.

Sources said some people could have been scared away by heavy police
presence with only about 200 people converging before being dispersed.

Elsewhere, Apostolic Churches in Zimbabwe held their own prayers at Zimbabwe
Grounds in Highfield with acting president Joyce Mujuru as guest of honor.

The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights meanwhile, urged Harare to adhere to
the African Charter on democracy.

University of Zimbabwe lecturer John Makumbe told VOA reporter Tatenda Gumbo
Africa Day has lost its meaning in Zimbabwe with the enduring political
crisis reversing the gains of liberation.

But independent political analyst Livingstone Dzikira differed, saying the
day remained significant.

Central Bank Shuts Out Zimplats Over Offshore Funds

http://www.voanews.com

25 May 2012

Blessing Zulu | Washington DC

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has directed local banks to stop dealing with
Zimplats, the country’s largest platinum miner, for allegedly ignoring an
order to repatriate funds from its offshore accounts.

Central bank governor Gideon Gono told parliament on Thursday the directive
will only be lifted if the company appealed to Finance Minister Tendai Biti
said neither Gono nor Zimplats have sought an audience with him.

“Due to failure by Zimplats to adhere with the provisions of this directive
to close their offshore accounts and transfer their funds to a bank onshore
as directed, exchange control has taken corrective administrative measures
to enforce compliance,” the RBZ said in a letter to banks.

“In this regard, authorized dealers are hereby advised to stop processing
and facilitating international or any cross border payments on behalf of
Zimplats... (and) to stop processing and facilitating any exports, including
the issuance of export documentation, electronic or otherwise on behalf of
Zimplats.”

In March, Mines Minister Obert Mpofu said cabinet had resolved that all
mining firms should bank locally after it emerged that billions of dollars
in export earnings were being kept offshore.

Zimplats spokesperson Busi Chindove acknowledged Gono’s directive in a
statement to VOA saying the move came as a surprise as the company was in
the process of complying with the instruction.

London-based investment executive Lance Mambondiani, who works with at
Coronation Financial, said Gono’s directive was improper.

Cyanide killers get death penalty

http://www.newzimbabwe.com

24/05/2012 00:00:00
    by Staff Reporter

DEATH penalties have been read out for two men accused of killing two
businessmen from Bulawayo by poisoning their water with cyanide while on a
gold hunt.

Bulawayo High Court judge Meshack Cheda, on circuit in Gweru, delivered the
ruling on Thursday after a trial lasting three days.

Farai Lawrence Ndlovu, 23, of Mkoba Village, Gweru, and Wellington Gadzira,
37, of Zvishavane, both denied the charges but were convicted of the murder
of  Michael Sutherland, 38, and Geoffrey William Povey, 64, with
constructive intent.

Justice Cheda told the two men: “There are no extenuating circumstances in
this crime, and the most appropriate sentence considering the seriousness of
the offence would be death.”
Ndlovu and Gadzira have an automatic right of appeal at the Supreme Court.

On the second day of the trial on Wednesday, Ndlovu took the witness stand
to accuse Gadzira of plotting and executing the murders. He admitted an
intention to rob.

Ndlovu said he had been approached by the two men who asked him to take them
to Kwekwe, where there was a gold rush at the time, to prospect for the
mineral.

He had invited Gadzira to come along. He told the court Gadzira suggested –
while they sat at the back of a pick-up truck with Sutherland and Povey
seated in front, that they could make more money if they gave the two
Bulawayo men sleeping tablets and robbed them of their metal detectors and
other personal belongings.

“We were already on our way to Kwekwe when Gadzira started questioning me on
how much I was getting from working with the deceased persons,” Ndlovu said.

“I told him everything was okay, but he said I was wasting an opportunity to
make more money. I then asked what he meant and that is when he suggested
that he had some tablets with him, which could make the deceased persons
sleep for an hour and then we would take their belongings and escape.”

Ndlovu said Gadzira then put the tablets in a plastic bottle which had some
liquid and they dissolved. Gadzira the poured the contents into Sutherland
and Povey’s drinking water.

He said upon arrival near Kwekwe River where they wanted to prospect for
gold, he and Povey went in one direction while Gadzira went in another with
Sutherland.

“After prospecting, I came back to the vehicle with Povey and he drank the
water,” Ndlovu said. “I was shocked when he fell to the ground and was
losing strength. I gave him some fruits and that is when he regained
strength.

“I then ran in the direction where Gadzira had gone with Sutherland shouting
for help, but I met Gadzira on the way who said Sutherland had already drunk
the water and he had left him dozing.

“When I tried to explain to him that the pills were not having the same
effect on Povey as he had earlier on explained, he became angry and said I
should not have given him the fruits.”

Ndlovu further told the court that Povey attempted to drive to hospital but
stopped after only going for 1km. He said when he held Povey by the arm to
get him off the driver’s seat, Gadzira came from behind and struck the
businessman with a mortar pick on the head.

“My Lord, Gadzira is the one who hatched this plan after I had introduced
him to the deceased. He lied about the effects of the drugs, he killed
Sutherland and Povey. My only intention was to participate in making them
sleep and escape with metal detectors and not commit murder.”
But in his defence, Gadzira said Ndlovu had delivered the blow that killed
Povey.

“He is the one who struck Povey with a pick and not me,” Gadzira said.

Rosa Takuva, prosecuting, told the court that the men had fled the scene
with the deceased’s vehicle, $300 cash and other personal belongings.

Ndlovu tried to escape to Mozambique where he intended to sell the car but
was arrested on March 29 near Sango Border post. Gadzira was arrested in
Bindura on July 11 by a 30-man strong joint taskforce which involved the
Central Intelligence Organisation and various units of the Criminal
Investigations Department.
Relatives of the two dead men welcomed the judgement outside court.

A spokesman for both families said: "We have waited a year for this
judgement. We feel justice has prevailed.”

Rushwaya beats match fixing charges

http://www.newzimbabwe.com

24/05/2012 00:00:00
    by Staff Reporter

SACKED ZIFA CEO Henrietta Rushwaya had six charges of corruption, bribery
and fraud dropped Thursday after prosecutors told a Harare magistrate they
could not bring witnesses to court.

An evidently relieved Rushwaya said she was not surprised the charges had
been dropped insisting the State never had a case against her.

"It was obvious that the state never had a case against me, they just rushed
to have me incarcerated but now it is all coming to pass what we said before
that these are baseless allegations,” she said.

But there was drama outside the court as a group of people calling
themselves Warriors Friends Club chanted slogans and sang songs denouncing
corruption and those involved in the scandal dubbed 'Asiagate'.

Still, Rushwaya was not fazed and dismissed them as hired gangs, adding that
none of them looked like a football fan.

The former ZIFA boss was facing allegations of masterminding a US$1 million
match fixing scandal under which national team players and officials were
allegedly paid to lose friendly matches on trips to Asia between 2007 and
2009.

But she will now face just one charge after six others were dropped with the
State saying principal witnesses could not be brought to court.

Prosecutors said Jonathan Musavengana, a former ZIFA programmes officer,
could not be located while Singaporean Wilson Raj Perumal, the alleged
leader of the betting syndicate, was jailed in Finland for match fixing
activities in that country.

Rushwaya will now stand trial on June 17 for allegedly facilitating a trip
to Malaysia by football side Monomotapa in 2009 where the Harare club posed
as the national team, sparking a worldwide scandal.

Her lawyer Jonathan Samkange dismissed the remaining charge as a face-saver
for the prosecution after their main case against his client collapsed.

"She was facing seven counts but six were dropped because the state has no
evidence at all. We said it in the beginning that these were merely
fictitious allegations trumped up against my client,” he said.

"The anti-corruption team should not have rushed to have my client arrested,
now they are the ones eating humble pie. This one charge is nothing but
'matandanyadzi' (face-server). It is a happy day for my client."

In February, ZIFA banned more than 80 players and officials linked to the
Asiagate scandal from any involvement with the national side until they are
cleared by the association’s ethics committee.

Retired judge Justice Ahmed Ibrahim, who heads the ethics committee,
recently announced that 30 players had been cleared for lack of evidence.

Activist: ‘Zimbabwe government increases repression following Arab Spring’

http://www.amnesty.org/

 

25 May 2012

Jenni Williams is executive director and founding member of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA)

© Amnesty International

“

Suddenly the world – as well as the last dictators standing – looks at peaceful protest with a different lens. Things have been tougher for us this last year – personally I’ve been arrested twice, and fixed with fabricated charges of kidnapping and theft

”

Jenni Williams, leader of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA)

Fri, 25/05/2012

Hope that the wave of popular uprisings across the Middle East and North Africa would spread south and translate into widespread social reforms was quashed over the last year with the brutal suppression of demonstrations across sub-Saharan Africa.

Jenni Williams, executive director and founding member of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) says in her country there is no doubt that events in Egypt, Tunisia, Bahrain and Syria have in fact meant harsher crackdowns on protests

“It's been a very hard year that began in February 2011,” she says.

“We’ve always faced opposition to our work from the authorities – but the repression increased with the brave, wonderful work done in the Arab Spring.

“Suddenly the world – as well as the last dictators standing – looks at peaceful protest with a different lens. Things have been tougher for us this last year – personally I’ve been arrested twice, and fixed with fabricated charges of kidnapping and theft”, she told Amnesty International.

WOZA is a social justice movement with a membership of around 80,000, which provides a platform to encourage women to speak out about issues that affect their everyday lives in Zimbabwe. Since its first protests in 2003 members of WOZA have been repeatedly intimidated, detained and ill-treated because of their activism.

“Suddenly the police have a variety of strategies to stop us gathering peacefully as we have been doing for the last 10 years. Robert Mugabe’s regime clearly wants to prevent a Zimbabwean spring,” says Jenni Williams.

In February 2011, 45 social justice, trade union and human rights activists were arrested and charged with treason merely for holding a meeting discussing the implications of protests in Egypt and Tunisia.

Jenni Williams has been arrested 43 times, has spent time in prison on several occasions, and says she expects to be jailed again next year when Zimbabweans go to the polls. She is constantly forced to present herself at court as her case is still pending. Yet she has no plans to stop her activism.

“I don’t regret a single moment. I celebrate the work that I do and the people I work with have the same spirit. We are in it together and together we are going to build a new democracy.

“That ‘livingness’ that you do as an activist- expressing yourself, makes up for so many of other moments when you are marginalized and shut up.”

 

 

How Crumbling U.S. Dollars Bailed Out Zimbabwe

http://www.npr.org

 

by Anders Kelto

 

Enlarge Kate Holt/Bloomberg via Getty Images

After hyperinflation in 2008, Zimbabwe abandoned its own currency, which included notes of 50 billion Zimbabwe dollars and even trillion-dollar notes. The main currency is the U.S. dollar, though the South African rand (on right) is also used in some places.

 

May 25, 2012

Four years ago, Zimbabwe experienced one of the worst cases of hyperinflation in history. The country abandoned its own currency and switched to the U.S. dollar — a move experts say prevented a complete economic collapse.

But using American dollars has created a host of bizarre issues. The bills are filthy, crumbling and often in short supply. There are no U.S. coins to make change, so chocolate is handed out instead. There is, oddly, an abundance of $2 bills.

Restaurants often have trouble providing change. Customers who are finished and have paid their tabs with large bills sometimes have to wait for others to finish and pay with smaller bills so that change becomes available.

A World Of Currencies

Outside a shopping complex in downtown Harare, three women lean against a brick wall. They hold stacks of cash for people passing by to see.

Enlarge Anders Kelto for NPR

Many of the U.S. dollars used in Zimbabwe have changed hands so often they are falling apart. But there are some new bills in circulation as well.

One of these informal money changers, Satenda, has her 7-month-old daughter cradled in her arms. Yet she can change money in the currency of your choice: South Africa's rand, Botswana's pula, Zambia's kwacha, Britain's pounds or euros.

As Zimbabwe's economy declined over the last decade, huge numbers of Zimbabweans spilled over the border to escape food shortages and to find jobs.

Many still live abroad and send money back to their families. Satenda and others trade that cash for U.S. dollars. She makes money by offering a slightly better exchange rate than banks.

On a good day, she can make $15 to $20. On a bad day, nothing.

But the first thing you notice about the U.S. bills she's holding is that they are absolutely filthy. They look like they might disintegrate in her hands at any moment.

That's because very few people have bank accounts, so the bills are constantly in circulation and rarely, if ever, exchanged for newer cleaner ones. They stay on the dusty streets, going from the fruit stand, to the guy selling phone cards on the corner, to money-changers like Satenda.

Some banks won't accept the notes because they are in such poor condition, though the money exchangers almost always will.

Zimbabwe used to have the Zimbabwe dollar, but during the period of hyperinflation, the country found itself printing billion-dollar and even trillion-dollar notes. The biggest bill was for 100 trillion dollars — that's a one followed by 14 zeroes.

All those bills are now worthless as legal tender, though some trillion-dollar notes have taken on an afterlife as souvenirs that can be sold for a small sum to collectors.

Today, everyone uses U.S. dollars, particularly in Harare and other northern parts of the country. In the south, near the border with South Africa, that country's currency, the rand, is accepted in some places.

No Small Bills Or Coins For Change

Inside the shopping center, customers stand in line at a small grocery store. Brian Mbandule walks past the cash register empty-handed.

"I wanted to buy two cans of drinks, but they ain't got no change for a 50," he says.

Blessing Chivandile, the store manager, says this is a common problem. Keeping small bills in stock is difficult, especially on paydays, when people show up with larger denominations.

At the cash register, Chris Guruneta buys a bag of potato chips for 80 cents. He hands over a dollar bill. But instead of getting 20 cents back, he's given two pieces of chocolate.

"We are forced to get sweets," he says with a laugh.

It seems odd, but this kind of change is common in Zimbabwe. That's because there are no U.S. coins. They're heavy and expensive to import. So Chivandile says most stores offer small snacks instead.

"We give them sweets," he says. Or, he adds, "They choose apples, bananas to cover the change."

Guruneta, who makes just over $1 an hour at his manufacturing job, says it can be frustrating; he'd rather save the change. But he says most people have learned to tolerate the situation.

"We have been doing it for a very long time now," he says. "So we are kind of understanding the situation we have in Zimbabwe."

A gendered insight into the lobola debate

Europe's economic crisis and Africa

http://www.cathybuckle.com

May 25, 2012, 12:48 pm

Recent developments have demonstrated very clearly how Europe’s economic
crisis is impacting on Africa and the developing world. Africa has become
accustomed to the idea that the former colonial powers are the donors of
money and material aid to their former colonies. ‘Quite right, too,’ some
would argue. The colonists have exploited Africa’s natural resources for
long enough. Time for the west to mend its ways; morally speaking, that
certainly seems the right thing to do but now Europe and its currency are
facing economic collapse. How to get out of the crisis is the dilemma facing
European powers. Do we spend our way out or do we slash national budgets,
pay back our debts and cut back on social services such as pensions, health
and education?  That is the dilemma Europe faces.

    There have been signs of impending disaster for some time but now the
signs have turned into real financial collapses that can no longer be
ignored. First, it was Ireland, then Spain and now Greece, not to mention
the UK which is now in what is called a ‘double dip recession’. All of these
European countries have aid budgets which are directly affected by the
financial crises that have hit them.  Budgets that have had to be
drastically cut as governments struggle to balance their domestic
requirements with the needs of the developing world. Taking away services
which people in Europe have come to think of as theirs by right does not go
down well with the electorate. Cutting the budget for nursery places, for
example, means working women have no choice but to quit the workforce and
stay at home, thus losing income and putting a further burden on the state.
Something has to give and, inevitably, in times of financial constraints, it
is the aid budget that will be cut.

    Donors and recipients are affected by the financial crisis. It is not
just ‘donor fatigue’ that has hit the aid agencies; it is cuts that
materially affect the amount of money they have to give to NGOs. This week
we hear that 66.000 Aids sufferers in Zimbabwe face cuts in care as HIV
funding dries up. Harare hospital is in such a dreadful state that they have
appealed to donors for help. The likelihood of government finance coming to
the aid of hospitals or HIV sufferers seems remote in view of recent
statements by Finance Minister Biti on the state of the economy. The cutting
of aid money to NGOs by European governments will lead directly to an
increase in the suffering of people already hit by disasters of one kind or
another. 250.000 people in Manicaland are already in urgent need of food aid
after a disastrous agricultural season in that region.

    Meanwhile, the forthcoming referendum on the constitution is reported to
be costing $35 million more than the initial estimate.  NSSA reports
non-payment of wages by a top military man who seized farms and now cannot
pay their workers’ salaries. In government departments, too, the Auditor
General reports the accounting system as ‘shambolic’. Creditors are calling
in their loans: Malawi is pressing Zimbabwe to repay a five year old debt of
$23 million. In Harare, district council pensions are not being paid and
salaries are three months in arrears; railway workers also have not been
paid for six months. Even in this dire financial situation, ministers are
still preaching the Zanu PF doctrine that no one of another race should be
allowed to take up business opportunities until all black youths have been
given the chance. Saviour Kasukuwere was addressing Zanu PF youth, telling
them to seize Indian businesses; Kasukuwere was echoing Mugabe’s words
earlier in the week when he threatened mine owners who failed to comply with
government regulations. “You will be thrown out of the country,” Mugabe
said, “just like the farmers” He later told Navi Pillay the UN Human Rights
Rapporteur that Zanu PF violence was “a consequence of history” even though
his Justice Minister had told her there was no violence in Zimbabwe! In
their efforts to pull the wool over her eyes, Zanu PF have overlooked the
fact that Navi Pillay is used to distinguishing truth from lies, that’s her
job.

Yours in the (continuing) struggle Pauline Henson

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay at a press conference

Speech by Ms Navi Pillay at the University of Zimbabwe

 

 

 

 

University of Zimbabwe

 

 

Speech by

Ms Navi Pillay

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

at the University of Zimbabwe

 

 

 

Harare, 24 May 2012

Distinguished Participants,

Dear Students,

Ladies and Gentlemen

[And others as relevant]

 

I am very pleased to address you today at the University of Zimbabwe.

 

I would like to express my appreciation to the Government of Zimbabwe for inviting me to visit the country and for the welcome I have received.

 

This is the first visit by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to Zimbabwe. It follows Zimbabwe’s participation in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), the mechanism which allows the Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva to review the human rights record of all UN Member States, during which Zimbabwe accepted 130 out of 177 recommendations made by other Member States. On the occasion of the adoption of Zimbabwe’s UPR report by the HRC Working Group on 12 October 2012, the Zimbabwe delegation noted that human rights should be viewed unselectively, objectively and in an un-politicized manner, and called for serious discussion, consideration and acceptance of social, economic and cultural rights. I welcome this indication from the Government of Zimbabwe of a willingness to engage seriously with the international community on human rights issues.

 

I fully agree that we need to advance all human rights comprehensively in the pursuit of full implementation of human rights. In my speech today, I will explore in some detail the protection and promotion of economic, social and cultural rights in the context of overall protection.

 

Indivisibility of rights

 

Let me begin by making one important point. Although for historical reasons there are two distinct covenants, on civil and political rights (ICCPR) and economic, social and cultural rights (ICESCR), there is only one set of human rights, as originally outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

 

UN Member States, including Zimbabwe, agreed at the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna in 1993 that “all human rights are universal, indivisible and interdependent and interrelated,” and that “the international community must treat human rights globally in a fair and equal manner, on the same footing, and with the same emphasis.” This implied a recognition that no human right can be achieved fully without the enjoyment of other rights.

 

The right to vote or to freely assemble does not mean too much to someone who is suffering from hunger or ill health because she cannot afford decent health care. At the same time, as the noted Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen has so aptly argued, no famine has ever occurred in a functioning democracy. It seems that the full, active and meaningful participation in designing and implementing government policies by those affected enables early warning of a crisis and the formulation of the most appropriate policy responses. Likewise, access to information, including through a free press, enables people to better prepare and protect themselves against such crises.

 

People everywhere want to be able to fend for themselves, to provide food, shelter and healthcare for themselves, and want to be able to send their children to school. This is the idea of dignity that is enshrined in the Universal Declaration to which the international community, including Zimbabwe, has subscribed. The freedoms of assembly and association, the right to participate in decisions that affect one’s life and the right to move freely to seek opportunities are all essential for a life in dignity. Likewise, human experience demonstrates that the long term investment of capital, access to credit and the development of property, which are all necessary for economic growth and development, and for the realization of economic, social and cultural rights are difficult when there is an atmosphere of repression, fear and rampant human rights abuse. Respecting all human rights is therefore crucial.

 

Zimbabwe is a party to both the core international covenants, ICCPR and ICESCR, and has thereby accepted the obligations imposed on States under these treaties.

 

State obligations

 

But what exactly are the human rights obligations of States, particularly when it comes to Economic, Social and Cultural Rights?  Under international human rights law the State is the primary duty-bearer with regard to human rights, and its obligations can be divided into three categories:

 

1. The obligation to respect human rights, which requires States to refrain from interfering, directly or indirectly, with the enjoyment of human rights.

 

For example, the State must refrain from depriving people of access to food by denying needed food assistance to political opponents.

 

2. The obligation to protect human rights, which requires States to prevent third parties from interfering with the enjoyment of their citizens’ human rights.

 

For example, the State must ensure that third parties, including parents, do not prevent girls from going to school.

 

3. The obligation to fulfil human rights requires States to adopt appropriate measures to fully realize human rights.

 

For instance, addressing the land and housing needs of the population generally requires a national strategy. Designed with the participation of rights holders, such a strategy would prioritize the needs of the most vulnerable and spell out clear objectives and deadlines that need to be monitored.

 

The activities of business can have a profound impact on the enjoyment of human rights. While business can contribute to the fulfilment of economic, social and cultural rights by creating jobs and revenue, human rights law requires States to protect against human rights abuses by business enterprises by taking steps to prevent, investigate, punish and redress such abuse.

 

For their part, business enterprises have a responsibility to respect human rights wherever they operate which means that they must exercise due diligence to ensure that they do not infringe on human rights and address any adverse impacts that they have. In 2011, the Human Rights Council unanimously endorsed a set of Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, providing for the first time a global standard for preventing and addressing the risk of adverse impacts on human rights linked to business activity.

 

The Resource Dimension of ESCR

 

In many parts of the world, States assert that a lack of resources inhibits them from implementing economic, social and cultural rights. While I acknowledge this reality, I want to emphasize that respecting and protecting human rights do not necessarily require substantial financial resources. These obligations mainly require States to refrain from violating human rights and protecting the population against possible violations. Many facets of economic, social and cultural rights actually depend on the adoption of the right policies and the necessary laws and the willingness to implement them free from corruption, rather than on money or other resources.

 

However, some ESCR obligations do indeed necessitate financial resources and require time to fully implement. For example, building infrastructure to provide clean water for each household, or providing local health clinics to reduce maternal and child mortality require both investment and time. Does this mean that States can postpone the implementation of the obligation to fulfil human rights? The answer is no. States need to take immediate measures using the maximum available resources at their disposal. These resources can include both national and international assistance. Moreover, measures that States take need to be efficient and concrete, and should prioritize those most in need, with clear indicators of progress and timelines for their achievements.

 

These requirements are encapsulated in the so-called ‘principle of progressive realisation’: The Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights recognises that full realization of all economic, social and cultural rights generally cannot be achieved in a short period of time, reflecting the constraints imposed by the real world and the difficulties all countries have in ensuring full realization of those rights. At the same time, the principle of progressive realisation imposes an obligation to move as expeditiously and effectively as possible towards that goal.

 

Consultation and participation in decision-making, non-discrimination, transparency, accountability and the rule of law are key factors for the implementation of human rights generally, and economic, social and cultural rights in particular.

 

The Content of ESCRs

 

When it comes to the implementation of human rights and in particular of economic, social and cultural rights, it is sometimes argued that the content of human rights – particularly economic, social and cultural rights - is vague and that there is little guidance on how to implement them in practice. However, the various international human rights mechanisms provide a wealth of guidance. The treaty bodies, for instance, have issued extensive commentaries on specific rights and their content. These treaty bodies are committees of independent experts that monitor the implementation of the core international human rights treaties. They are created in accordance with the provisions of the treaty that they monitor. Similarly, the work of independent experts appointed by the Human Rights Council called Special Rapporteurs, the work of UN agencies and my own Office have also contributed to clarifying the content of rights.

 

These resources and expertise are available and should be used. The international as well as regional human rights mechanisms can provide expertise to support the efforts for the realization of economic, social and cultural rights in specific country situations.  In this context, I would like again to draw attention to Zimbabwe’s recent participation in the Universal Periodic Review and to the review by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. The outcome of these processes will hopefully assist the country in strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights.

 

I would also like to encourage Zimbabwe to respond positively to requests for visits by a number of Special Rapporteurs who are also well placed to provide guidance on specific rights. Overall, my Office stands ready to provide assistance to strengthen the human rights capacity of various actors in the country.

 

I would now like to focus on a few selected rights to explain the obligations they impose on States.

 

Right to education

 

The right to education is significant for an informed and meaningful participation of people in democratic processes. To this end, it is especially important to pay attention to equal access to education for women and for the most vulnerable members of society.

 

Historically, Zimbabwe has had a strong public education system with high levels of primary school enrolment and literacy rates. Recently, the Government adopted the Zimbabwe Medium Term Plan (MTP) 2011-2015, which sets out comprehensive policy objectives and actions that include rehabilitating existing schools to make them safe and secure.  The MTP envisages that up to 30% of the total annual budget will be allocated to the education sector to address challenges and remove barriers to access to education. I welcome the objectives spelled out in this Plan, which is a good step towards the fuller realization of the right to education. However, many challenges remain for Zimbabwe to achieve the realization of the right to education.

 

Right to Food

 

Let me move on to the right to adequate food. The right to food is not a right to be fed, but primarily the right to be able to feed oneself in dignity. Thus, realization of the right to food requires creating conditions that allow the people, individually or collectively, to produce food or to buy it. It means a person needs access to productive resources, such as land, seed and water, or to earn a decent income and have access to functioning markets. When people are not able to feed themselves through their own means, in situations such as conflicts, disasters, illness, disabilities and old age, the State must provide food directly.

 

Zimbabwe used to be the bread basket of the region. However, the country is now struggling to ensure food and nutrition security for all in the country. Food production in Zimbabwe has been devastated by a combination of economic and political instability and natural disasters. In January 2012, UNICEF warned that at least 3.5% of children face starvation due to the on-going drought. In March 2012, the Cabinet declared five drought-hit provinces to be national disaster areas. It is projected that about 1.5 million Zimbabweans will not be able to meet their food requirements in the current lean season.

 

In order to mitigate the negative impact of such crises, it is critical to take longer-term measures to build people’s resilience against such shocks, including through establishing more effective mechanisms to facilitate fair access to productive resources in line with international human rights standards, decent work and social protection without discrimination. In addition, emergency measures need to be provided to protect people from falling into hunger and malnutrition. For both immediate and longer-term responses, establishing strong accountability mechanisms is fundamental.

 

Right to land and adequate housing

 

The elements of the right to adequate housing have been defined under international human rights law. Security of tenure and affordability are two of these important elements.

 

In this context, the issue of access and use of land are crucial factors. Recently, Zimbabwe played an active role in coordinating the participation of the Africa Group in the inter-governmental negotiations on the Voluntary Guidelines on the responsible governance of tenure of lands. The Guidelines provide guidance on access to land, and have incorporated a human rights-based approach. The Guidelines have been adopted under the auspices of the Food and Agricultural Organisation, joined by Zimbabwe. I would encourage Zimbabwe to now move ahead on implementing these Guidelines in line with international human rights standards in the formulation and implementation of its land reform and management policies.

 

Legal security of tenure means that, regardless of the type of tenure of an individual or a group (owner, renter or even without a formal title), everyone should possess a degree of security of tenure which guarantees legal protection against forced eviction, harassment and other threats.

 

Affordability means that the costs associated with housing (rent, mortgage, etc.) should not threaten or compromise the attainment and satisfaction of other basic needs. For example if the rent of a family is so high that they do not have money left to buy food or medicines, then there is an affordability issue.

 

In many places in the world, people have no official title to land or housing, and live in so called informal settlements. Informal settlements are primarily the result of rural–urban migration because of the lack of access to basic services and income generating activities, or because of poverty, homelessness, landlessness, lack of affordable housing, or forcible displacement.  It is unfortunate that in many places, including here in Zimbabwe, the response to what is essentially a poverty issue has been forced evictions of those living in informal settlements, rather than a more human rights sensitive approach.

 

Numerous studies show that forced evictions do not resolve the issue of informal settlements: people need to have access to jobs and will therefore have no choice but to return and set up new informal settlements, perpetuating the cycle of evictions. Evictions cause further destitution and poverty, are costly and cause long-term damage to the whole of society. Evictions should not occur at all unless alternative adequate accommodation is provided.

 

During my visit, I have not had the opportunity to visit those evicted during Operation Murambatsvina. Following the events in 2005, the United Nations Secretary-General appointed a Special Envoy to assess the situation. I am particularly interested to hear how the Government has followed up on her recommendations. I have raised the broad evictions with my Government interlocutors, and will do so in more detail with the Minister of Lands, Land Reform and Resettlement.

 

I would now like to turn my attention to some additional issues that have been brought to my attention during my meetings over the past days.

 

Sanctions

 

One such issue is the impact of sanctions imposed by some Western Governments on Zimbabwe on economic, social and cultural rights. Some of my interlocutors have argued that these sanctions have had a negative impact on the population. According to the Zimbabwe Demographic Health Survey 2011, the Maternal Mortality rate now is at 960 per 100,000 live births, whereas in 2005-2006 it was at 555, an increase of more than forty percent in just six years. At the same time, the limited access to clean water has led to outbreaks of typhoid and cholera. I recognise that other factors may be contributing to these declining indicators. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that sanctions have had a harmful impact on Zimbabweans.

 

In the context of sanctions, I would like to refer to General Comment 8 adopted in 1997 by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which emphasises that the imposition of international sanctions entails obligations both for the targeted State as well as those imposing sanctions with regard to economic, social and cultural rights.

 

Regarding the targeted state, the imposition of sanctions does not nullify or diminish its obligations under economic, social and cultural rights. While sanctions might well diminish the capacity of the affected State to fund or support some of the measures necessary for the fulfilment of economic, social and cultural rights, the State remains under an obligation to ensure the absence of discrimination in relation to the enjoyment of these rights, and to take all possible measures, including negotiations with other States and the international community, to reduce to a minimum the negative impact upon the rights of vulnerable groups within the society.

 

At the same time, those imposing the sanctions have to take economic, social and cultural rights into account when designing an appropriate sanctions regime. Furthermore, they are obliged to take steps, individually and through international assistance and cooperation, to respond to any disproportionate suffering experienced by vulnerable groups within the targeted country.

 

Good governance

 

Another issue that I feel compelled to raise is the issue of good governance. Mismanagement, corruption, diversion of funds, allocation of resources for goals that do not contribute to the common good can significantly obstruct the achievement of economic, social and cultural rights. This was most recently recognized by the Human Rights Council in March when it passed a resolution recognising the detrimental impact of corruption on the protection of human rights and on the ability of governments to fulfil their human rights obligations, particularly the economic and social rights of the most vulnerable and marginalized.  It is my firm belief that respect for fundamental human rights principles such as equality, non-discrimination, participation, transparency, and accountability are essential to the fulfilment of all human rights and must be integral to an effective anti-corruption strategy. I urge the Government of Zimbabwe to address the issue of good governance as a priority, also to ensure equitable economic development.

 

The Role of Civil society in the promotion and protection of ESCRs

 

Let me end by reflecting on the crucial role of civil society in realizing economic, social and cultural rights. I use the term “civil society” in a broad sense to also include academic and other institutions. Universities and academics can play an important role in the promotion and protection of economic, social and cultural rights. By teaching and raising awareness on human rights standards, they positively contribute to a better understanding of economic, social and cultural rights, hence their use by future professionals, not only lawyers, but also architects, urban planners, health, education professionals and others.  Research and studies also play a crucial role in identifying relevant issues in a given country and proposing ways of addressing them.

 

Civil society provides a powerful and essential stimulus for social change and justice. This is why an enabling and free environment for their activity is so essential for a country. Protecting and promoting the work of NGOs, human rights defenders, advocates, journalists and lawyers and communities themselves fighting for their civil and political rights and economic, social and cultural rights is a prerequisite to the development and prosperity of any society.

 

Growing up in Apartheid South Africa, I never believed that a transformation would occur in my lifetime. But it did. Recent movements on our continent and elsewhere convince me that change and transformation are possible. The claims for fundamental freedoms from fear and want also resonate in the Occupy protests that began in Wall Street and spread to other major cities across the world.

 

These protests showed how violations of rights—economic, social, cultural, political and civil rights—are closely linked and produce chain reactions.  The protesters asserted that the denial of people’s participation in shaping the destiny of a nation and the unfair allocation of its wealth are all too often carried out by those who wield power or rig the political game for their own benefit. 

 

More and more people across the globe are not willing any longer to defer unquestioningly to invisible forces and unaccountable institutions. They are demanding higher levels of accountability -- from their governments, from international institutions, and from the private sector.  They make clear that freedom from fear and freedom from want are the principal responsibilities of governance and demand a return to the rule of law -- including in the economic sphere.  

 

Their quest for dignity is to make the promotion, protection and fulfilment of human rights as the central purpose of economic and political systems. The fight against discrimination and exclusion is at the core of their demands for all, including for women and groups that historically have been kept at the margins of active political and economic life.

 

I thank you for your attention.

ZimExpo USA 2012

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ZimExpo USA 2012

In This Issue Plan Your Trip Soccer Tournament Schedule of Events Other Activities! Plan your Trip! Click here to book  your  hotel rooms for a special ZimExpo rate on the hotel website! GROUP BOOKING CODE: ZIMExpo Hotel Address: Hilton Raleigh-Durham Airport at Research Triangle Park, 4810 Page Creek Lane, Durham, North Carolina, USA 27703. Travel Details: Use Raleigh-Durham Airport: RDU   Bridging the Gap -  Zimbabwe 2 da Caribbean    Lady B Bless and Zim Carib Radio will broadcast live from ZimExpo USA 2012    Don't miss the Soccer Tournament  We have several teams playing for this years most coveted trophy! Games will be played on Sunday. Watch this space for more info !  (Please note:Alchohol consumption is not permitted at the soccer fields)

ZimExpo USA 2012 is here! Dear Chipo,  Make your final arrangements for Raleigh, North Carolina May 25-27th !  Updated events listed below on the schedule. Schedule of Events: Friday: Consular Services  Formal Community Awards Dinner     Saturday:   Business Forums: Doing Business in Africa: 9am - 10:30am  Dr. Jabulani Dhliwayo - ICT Opportunities.  Dr. David Katerere -  Africa is not for wimps! Mr. Nyasha Mutsekwa, CEO of Metvafrica. How New Media is changing the traditional broadcast industry in Africa.   Business Breakout Sessions : 11am - 12pm Exhibitors 9am - 5pm  Book Launch 1pm - 2:30pm *Branching Streams Flow in the Dark" by Dr. Charles Mungoshi  * "Sunbaked Love" by Tsisti Madzongwe * "The Endless Journey" by Dr. Jabulani Dhliwayo Consular Services 9am - 5pm "Small House" Panel Discussion: 3pm - 5pm Empowered Mens Ministries: Sabbath Worship Service Miss Zim USA and Concert     Sunday:   Church Service 11am-12pm at Shepards House Soccer Tournament and Family Day Charity Golf Tournament  Health Fair sponsored by Empowered Mens Ministries Gospel Concert        Please continue to check our website www.zimexpo.com for updates.   Place your food orders now for Sadza, Oxtail, mazondo and much more  with  Cassandra's Kitchen and  Nubian Caterers  A few reminders..... 1. The hotel is filling up,  so.. be sure to  reserve your hotel room .    2. Fika Travel and Tours, our exclusive travel partner will help with all your travel needs!      3.The Business Forum  on Friday and Saturday will feature amoung others:  - ZIA, the Zimbabwe Investment Authority  - Local investment banks and Investment Clubs  - Zimbabwe Stock Exchange    - American - Zimbabwe Business Association . 4. Purchase your tickets for the Networking Awards dinner and concert,Miss Zim USA and Gospel concert.  5. Yambuka is going to premier new exclusive designs. Click here to preview and order, your merchandise will be delivered at the expo. A small selection will also be available for purchase at the events. 6. Space is limited  for the Shona and Ndebele classes. Register now! Meet the Author: Jabulani Dhliwayo The book is a story of one man's personal journey from revolutionary to professional and is written with great honesty, incorporating humor and pathos in the tale. It is an interesting perspective of a slice of the Zimbabwean and African histories that has seldom been recorded particularly in such a personal way. Come and meet Jabulani Dhliwayo and get your signed copy of the book. Phrench Vanilla Upcoming Rapper Scarzz Scarzz and Phrench Vanilla to perform live during Miss Zim.  Upcoming rapper Scarzz, an independent lyricist from Zimbabwe will perform live during Miss Zimbabwe USA on Saturday May 26th. Scarzz has opened for artists like J. Cole, Dorrough, and Young City. His music brings a unique sound to the hip-hop world with African inspired concepts.   Phrench Vanilla , is a hip hop-dancehall recording and performing artist from Zimbabwe, based in North Carolina. Phrench Vanilla, has a very unique sound, comprising of a gruff somewhat deep voice, with a catchy flow, and style, with infectious beats, that make him stand out amongst hip hop and dancehall artists alike. Phrench has been performing at various events, everywhere from Dallas, Texas, to Raleigh North Carolina, opening up for RocNation Recording Artist J.Cole, and Jamaican songstress Jojo Mac.       Also making a special appearance will be Flavour {P} aka Prince Desire, DJ Feja from Visions FM, DJ 1-Beat from Africa in Your Ear, DJ Ras Bajja B from Backyard Vibes and Laby B Bless from Zim Carib Radio           IHI Modeling Agency to sponsor Miss Zimbabwe USA 2012        We are pleased to announce that IHI -In his Image  Modeling Agency will offer a modeling contract to Miss Zimbabwe USA 2012.   In his Image models have been on covers of magazines, published in books, work with top celebrity designers and photographers. Thet specialize in model training, self esteem development, model management and event planning. All contestants will also receive coaching as part of their preparation for the pageant.   LeahAfrican Design:International designer for Miss Zim USA 2012 Pageant   Leah Africandesign is a Designer par excellence,whose designs have taken the world by storm. Fashion is a global means of communication. All their fabrics are original, genuine with vibrant colours.Their styles entwine embroidery with an african twist. Don't miss this fabulous display of fashion!  Charity Golf Tournament Two nonprofit organizations will be the recipients of proceeds from the Charity Golf Tournament on Sunday, May 27th. Munhu and Seeds of Africa Foundation, are seeking funds for their programs that benefit children and youth in Zimbabwe - please come out and show your support! Seeds of Africa Purchase a brick to help build a school